“Please, call me Edgar.” He looked past me when my mother approached, and his face lit up with a smile that looked—almost genuine.
My mother apologized for being late. I squeaked out one of my own and shouldered the blame for our delay. The appetizers arrived as the conversation shifted to a discussion about the move, and I did my best to bite my tongue. It was clear that Edgar expected us both to move in with him, and one glare from my mother told me that I shouldn’t even dare bring up what we talked about before we left for the restaurant.
Edgar had already decided which room was going to be mine and talked with one of his contacts at Carson Cove University to make arrangements for me to enroll when the next semester started. My mother just smiled through it all—she didn’t tell him that I was already attending classes online, or that I didn’t want to live with them. She just expected me to go along with it without voicing an objection.
I didn’t think it was going to be this difficult. I’m getting backed into a corner without saying a word.
I was torn. The only way I could make my case was to stomp all over their excitement. They had made grand plans for their future, and mine, without even consulting me. Our meal arrived, and it finally caused a break in the conversation. If I was going to speak up, I had to do so quickly. I felt like the only option I had was
to use what I knew about Edgar to my advantage—in a passive aggressive way that didn’t reveal how much I really knew about my mother’s new husband.
“So, Edgar…” I reached for my fork and looked over at him. “I feel like you know everything about me, and I don’t know anything about you.”
“There’s not much to tell.” He shrugged. “I grew up in Carson Cove, and I’ve lived here my whole life. My family owns Sinn Technology, and after my father decided to retire, I took over as CEO.”
I believe you left a few steps out of that journey…
“Is the rest of your family still in Carson Cove?” I tilted my head inquisitively.
“Some, yes.” He nodded and took a bite of his food.
“Do you have any children?” I reached for my drink.
“Stop being so nosy.” My mother reached over and patted my hand.
“Mom, I’m just trying to find out if I have any stepbrothers or stepsisters.” I pulled my hand away but kept the smile on my face.
“It’s okay.” Edgar waved my mother off. “She has a right to know—we’re family now. Yes, I have a daughter named Jenny, who is a few years younger than you. She will be living with us at Sinn Manor.”
Really? Does he not know that she moved out?
“That’s all you need to know.” My mother narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’ll just tell her.” Edgar exhaled sharply. “There’s no reason to keep secrets—even if they’re painful.”
“Secrets?” I raised both eyebrows.
“I also have a son.” Edgar put down his fork, and I saw him tremble. “His name is Damien…”
“Edgar, you don’t have to talk about this.” My mother reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Especially not here…”
“Give me a minute.” Edgar closed his eyes and raised his hand to cover his mouth—it looked like he was about to start crying.
What the hell?
“This is difficult for him.” My mother took a sip of her wine.
Difficult? Why? It’s mutual hatred…
“My son and I are not close.” Edgar winced and opened his eyes. “We had a falling out a few years ago, and we haven’t really spoken since. It’s not something that I like to talk about, but…”
“Edgar’s son lost someone very close to him, and he decided to take it out on the people who loved him.” My mother sighed. “It’s a very sad situation.”
“Yes.” Edgar nodded. “We all loved her—Caroline—the woman my son was going to marry. After the accident, we tried to put the pieces of our family back together, but Damien just wasn’t able to move on.”
There is some truth woven into his version of it, but he’s not telling us everything. The hatred existed before Caroline’s accident—and she wasn’t the cause of their falling out.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed.